The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, situated in Riverside, California, represents a collaborative effort between RAM, the City of Riverside, and comedian Cheech Marin.
Functioning as a hub for Chicano painting, sculpture, and photography, The Cheech Center boasts 61,420 square feet of curated space, featuring a diverse array of artworks sourced from comedian Cheech Marin’s personal collection. This collection stands as one of the world’s foremost compilations of Chicano art. Architects from Los Angeles-based firm Page & Turnbull, in collaboration with museum architects WHY, undertook the transformation of a 1964 mid-century library into a modern museum and cultural center.
Preserving the historic elements of the original building, including exposed brick walls, stainless-steel framework, and aluminum stair railings with restored decorative polyester panels, the design team successfully infused the historic structure with a new identity, both internally and externally. The lighting design for this historical renovation was entrusted to the expertise of HLB Lighting’s Los Angeles office, emphasizing the importance of integrating modern products seamlessly into a historic setting.
Tina Aghassian, Senior Principal Designer at HLB Lighting, explained the lighting design strategy, stating, “We wanted to make sure the products are very simple looking and don’t call attention to them.”
The design team incorporated over 500 units of Targetti’s versatile LEDO with Dynamic Beam Shaping (DBS) technology as the primary source of illumination throughout the museum. These LEDO DBS luminaires, featuring the EUROSTANDARD SURFACE TRACK, were strategically placed in museum galleries and common areas. Specifically designed for museum lighting, LEDO track light projectors offer precise beam control, high color quality, and excellent color rendering.
These projectors showcase innovative Dynamic Beam Shaping (DBS) technology with variable optics, enabling the adjustment of the beam opening using digital input without mechanical components. The collaboration between TARGETTI and LensVector resulted in fixtures equipped with an optical system dynamically varying the beam opening angle. This technology, based on liquid crystal lenses, allows for beam variation without mechanical parts, controlled through an IoT system using the Casambi® application for IOS and Android.
Tina Aghassian, emphasizing the advantages of LEDO DBS, said, “Being able to change the settings as the artwork changes and the ability to have accessory lenses is another reason we chose the LEDO DBS.”
LEDO DBS combines advanced optical system technology with wireless control in a single fixture, offering maximum optical flexibility through Dynamic Beam Shaping (DBS) Control, all managed wirelessly via Bluetooth through the Casambi app interface, allowing for individual fixture, beam, and dimming control.